Midwest-based Am Law 200 firm Armstrong Teasdale has continued its raid on Philadelphia-based midsize firms, taking another partner from Dilworth Paxson. Dilworth, meanwhile, is working to rebuild its IP practice leadership.

Litigator Mark Halderman has joined Armstrong Teasdale just two weeks after a colleague of his from Dilworth, Edward “Ted” Behm, made the same move. Behm had been the head of Dilworth's patent practice.

Halderman said he worked closely with Behm over the past three years, and Behm's move was a big factor in his decision to join Armstrong Teasdale.

“It seemed to be very exciting to get in on the ground floor of the new East Coast space,” Halderman said. “They have a great mix of both patent prosecution and litigation, and my practice has focused largely on patent litigation and other intellectual property litigation.”

Dilworth also announced a hire Tuesday, as it brought on IP partner Nanda Kumar in its Princeton, New Jersey, and Philadelphia offices. Ajay Raju, CEO of Dilworth Paxson, said in an announcement that Kumar will now co-chair the firm's IP practice. Partner John Squires is chairman of IP, as well as the emerging companies practice.

Kumar, a former Reed Smith partner, opened his own firm in 2015, where he and Raju worked together. Before joining Dilworth as CEO, Raju was the managing partner of Reed Smith's Philadelphia office.

Most of Kumar's clients are in the pharmaceutical industry, he said, and he has built a book of business in the seven figures. He said he left Reed Smith four years ago because he wanted more independence. But joining Dilworth, which is much smaller than Reed Smith but still offers a general practice platform, seemed like a better fit, he said.

“I can grow at a firm like this, with my desire to bring in more business and grow with the firm. They wanted someone with more experience, someone who can lead,” Kumar said.

Halderman's litigation practice also includes real estate and land use disputes, and matters arising under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Title VI and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. His IP work is largely focused on patent litigation.

Halderman and Behm are on a team that represents the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in a case against Richard Postrel, ViaGenetics Inc. and The Genesis Project Inc., over research that the pharmaceutical company defendants obtained and threatened to publicly disclose. Also litigating that case, according to court records, is Thomas Biemer, chair of Dilworth's litigation department.

After Behm joined earlier this month, Armstrong Teasdale partner Richard Scheff, who leads the firm's Eastern U.S. presence, said there would be further additions to the IP practice on the East Coast, particularly in New York and Philadelphia.

Scheff also came from a native Philadelphia firm, Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads. He was executive chairman of the firm when he left with a group of attorneys to launch Armstrong Teasdale's Philadelphia office last year. Soon after that, he brought on a large group from Montgomery McCracken's New York office as well.

Regarding Halderman's decision to leave, Raju said in an email that Dilworth does not comment on departures, but the firm wishes him well.

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Dilworth's Patent Practice Chair Joins Armstrong Teasdale